In his post-fight interview at UFC 310, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja produced a surprising call-out.
The Brazilian has already beaten many of the top contenders in his division and this past weekend in Las Vegas, he added newcomer Kai Asakura to that list.
In his closing statement at the T-Mobile Arena, Pantoja said the name of Demetrious Johnson, telling the former flyweight king that if he wants to come out of retirement to prove he's still the best, they can make it happen.
For a video on his YouTube channel, "Mighty Mouse" recorded his reactions to the fights and as a result, this was his immediate response to hearing Pantoja call his name:
"Why would I do that? Boys, boys. The bank account is sitting nice and good, 38-years old, 11 consecutive title defences. Champ ain't coming back."
Johnson announced his retirement at ONE 168 in September where he vacated the ONE flyweight world championship after not fighting for over a year.
The UFC recordholder wanted to give himself 12 months to see if he would miss competing but when he didn't, he knew it was the right time to end his MMA career for good.
Later on in the video, Johnson explained his reaction in further detail.
“When Alex Pantoja called me out, everyone’s blowing me up: ‘What do you think?’ I was like, ‘Guys, I’m retired. I have no interest to fight anymore,'” Johnson said. “I’m so happy for Pantoja. I’m happy he got his third title defense. I’ve always thought he was an amazing athlete. He’s the greatest flyweight in the world right now. …
“I’m not the best flyweight in the world anymore. My black ass is retired, and I’m happily retired. I ain’t gonna be no m************ Jose Aldo. I ain’t gonna be no m************ Donald Cerrone coming back to fight. There ain’t no point coming back to fight.”
Watch the full video below: